Clam-dredge



Patented May 23, |899.

0. L. DAVIS.

v CLAN DBEDGE.

(Application led Apr. 9, 1898.)

2 Sheets-Sheet I.

No Model.)

@asses i Patented May 23, |899. 0. L. DAVIS. I

CLAN DREDGE.

(Application filed Apr. 9, 1898.)

2 Sheets-Sheet. 2.

(No Modl.)

ZZ I m. mams Pnzns co, morn-Uwe.. wAsmNnTo UNITED STATES- PATENT OFFICE.

OTIS L. DAVIS, OF VINTON, IOWA.

CLAM-DREDGE.'

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 625,543, dated May 23, 1899.

Application filed April 9,1898. Serial No. 677,014. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern:

Beit known that-I, OTIS L. DAVIS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Vinton, in the county of Benton and State of Iowa, have invented a new and useful Clam-Dredge, of

-which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to mechanical means for removing clams and like bivalves from the beds of rivers, the purpose being to facilitate this work and diminish the cost attendant upon procuring the shells by methods generally practiced.

In accordance with this invention a boat, vessel, or suitable tioat is provided with an opening of suitable length and width and is adapted to be impelled by suitable means. An elevating apparatus is mounted upon the boat and operates through the opening thereof and is capable of rising and falling, so as to adapt itself to the depth of the river, said means consisting of a shoe, a scraper, an agitator for loosening the shells, and coperating conveyers, the one operating in the rear of the scraper to receive the shells therefrom, and the other carrying the shells upward and delivering them upon the boat.

For a full understandingof the merits and advantages of the invention reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings and the following description.

The improvement is susceptible of various changes in the form, proportion, and the minor details of construction without departing from the principle or sacricing any of the advantages thereof, and to a full disclosure of the invention an adaptation thereof is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a top plan view of a dredging apparatus for attaining the objects of this invention. Fig. 2 is a central longitudinal section thereof. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section of the shoe and the parts intimately associated therewith. Fig. 4 is a cross-section on the line Y Y of Fig. 3 looking in the direction of the arrow. Fig. 5 is a section on the line X X of Fig. 3 looking toward the front as designated by the arrow.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the following description and indicated in the severalviews of the drawings by the same reference characters;

point.

In carrying out the purpose of the invention a boat or vessel l of the scow variety is provided andis formed centrally with a longi-A have a range of operation laterally, a brace of anchors 6 are connected by a rope or cable 7 ,to which the cable 5 has a trolley connection, so as to move upon the rope or cable 7, whereby the boat may be shifted laterally, so as to operate upon a dierent portion of the bed after it has been advanced over the bed at a given A second engine 8 is located aft for the purpose of operating the propeller and the elevating mechanism.

The scraping mechanism comprises a shoe and an upwardly and rearwardly inclined shovel or blade 9, secured to the shoe. The shoe consists of two strips 10, disposed in longitudinal and' parallel relation and about thirty to forty feet in length and about one inch thick and ten inches wide, arranged with their greatest width horizontally. These strips lO are preferably metal bars or plates and have their front ends curved upwardly, so as to pass over the bed with greater facility. Downwardl y and rearwardly inclined posts 1l are secured at their lower ends to the strips l0 and are connected near their lower ends by bracebars l2, their upper ends being mounted in suitable ways of the boat. The shoe and the parts connected thereto are adapted to rise and fall according to the depth of the bed, so as to remain in contact with the latter. Acable 13 connects the front end of the shoe with a block 14, located upon the fore part of the boat, thereby relieving the posts 1l of a great amount of the strain. The shovel or scraping-blade 9 is provided with side pieces vformed by bending side portions of the plate from which the shovel is constructed, the upper edge portions of the side pieces being bent outwardly to overlap the strips l0 of the shoe and to which they are bolted or otherwise firmly attached. This arrangement forms a rigid structure and throws the blade below the plane of the strips or runners 10 and insures positive and effective working of the scraping mechanism.

An elevator 15 is located aft of the opening or space 2 and is mounted upon the rear portion of the shoe, so as to rise and fall therewith. This elevator inclines upwardly and rearwardly and has loose connection with the boat, so as to admit of its rising and falling to accommodate the position of the shoe with reference to the boat. This elevator may be of any desired construction generally employed in dredging machinery and isoperated by means of the engine 8. An upwardly and rearwardly inclined conveyer 16 is interposed between the lower 'portion of the elevator and the rear end of the shovel 9 and receives the shells from the scraper and conveys them to the elevator. The conveyer 16 is of the endless type and maybe ofanyconstruction and is operated in such a manner so that its upper portieri travels rearwardly, thereby carrying the shells from the shovel to the elevator. The conveyer is driven at such relative speed as to keep the shovel clear at its rear end, thereby enabling the apparatus to be propelled forward with a minimum amount of resistance. An agitator 17 is located in advance of `the scraper and is a toothed cylinder or roller and is of a length approximating the width of the scraper, so as to loosen the shells in advance of the scraper and insure a proper delivery of the shells to the shovel when the apparatus is in operation. This agitator or toothed cylinder is driven from the elevator by means of a drive-belt 18 and is operated so as to loosen the shells and insure their delivery upon the shovel or scraper-blade.

The boat is moved from place to place by means of a propeller-wheel 19, located in the opening 2 and driven by means of the engine 8. When the dredge is in operation, it is connected by the rope or cable 5 with the anchor, and when the engine 3 is set in motion the cable is Wound upon the windlass 4, thereby advancing the boat and causing the scraper to pick up the shells, which latter glide over the shovel and are received upon the conveyer 16 and are delivered upon the boat by the elevator 15 in the manner set forth. The position of the propeller enables it to be run when the dredge is in operation at a speed to agitate the water so as to loosen the earth, and foreign matter clinging to the shells and to create a current to carry off the earth, whereby the shells are delivered upon the boat in a marketable condition and comparatively free from mud and foreign matter.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed, and desired to be secured by Iletters Patent, is-

1. In a shell-dredge, the combination with a boat provided with scraping and elevating mechanism, of a power-driven windlass arranged upon the forepart of the boat for advancing the dredge through the water to its work, a transversely-arranged cable, inde- 2. In a shell-dredge, the combination with a boat having an opening or space, a shoe comprising longitudinal runners spaced apart,.

and means connecting the runners with the boat and admitting of the shoe having a rising-and-falling movement, of an upwardly and rearwardly inclined scraper secured at its sides to the said runners, an upwardly and rearwardly inclined endless conveyer operating in the rear of the scraper and supported by the said runners, and an elevator receiving the shells from the conveyer and deliver# ing them on the boat and connected at its lower end with the said runners, substantially as set forth.

3. In a shell-dredge, the combination with a boat, and a shoe connected with the boat and comprising longitudinal runners spaced apart, of an upwardly and rearwardly inclined scraper or shovel having its side portions bent upwardly and secured to the said runners, a conveyer supported by and located in the space formed between the runners and adapted to receive the shells as they pass over the rear end ofthe shovel, and an elevator for delivering the shells from the4 conveyer upon the boat connected at its lower end with the runners, substantially as described.

4. In a dredge, the combination with a boat and a shoe comprisinglongitudinally-disposed strips spaced apart, of a shovel inclining upwardly and rearwardly and having its side portions secured to the strips of the shoe, a conveyer operating in the rear of the shovel, and an elevator for receiving the matter from the conveyer and delivering it upon the boat, substantially as set forth.

5. In a dredge, the combination with longitudinal runners spaced apart, and a shovel having its side portions bent upwardly and secured to the runners, of an agitator for loosening the matter to be dredged located in advance of the shovel and journaled at its ends to the runners, an engine mounted upon the boat, and connections for positively driving the agitator from the engine, substantially as set forth.

6. In a dredge, the combination of longitudin al runners spaced apart, a shovel having its side portions bent upwardly, thence laterally and overlapping and secured to the runners, a rotary agitator journaled to the runners in advance of the shovel, a conveyer located in the rear of the shovel and supported by the runners and operating in the space formed between them, an elevator having positive connection with the rear end portions IOO IOS

IIO

of said runners, and actuating mechanism for positively driving the agitator, the conveyer and elevator,substantially as described.

7. In a dredge, the combination with a boat having an opening, of a propeller located in said opening, a dredging mechanism operating in the said opening, and actuating mechanism for the propeller and the dredging mechanism, substantially as described.

8. In a dredge, the combination with a boat having an opening or space, of posts inclined downwardly and rearwardly, strips secured to the lower ends of the posts and arranged horizontally, a shovel secured to said strips, a conveyer operating in the rear of the shovel, an elevator receiving the matter from the conveyer and delivering it upon the boat, and an agitator disposed to operate in advance of the shovel, substantially as described.

9. In a dredge, the combination with a boat, of a shoe located beneath the same, dredging mechanism carried by the shoe and located wholly beneath the boat, and guides rigid with the shoe, connecting the same with the boat and mounted in suitable ways of the latter, said guides being adapted to move freely in the said ways, substantially as described.

10. In a dredge, the combination with a boat, of dredging mechanism located wholly beneath the same, guides connecting the dredging mechanism with the boat and being rigid with the former and adapted to permit the latter to rise and fall, and a exible connection between the dredging mechanism and the front end of the boat, said iieXible connection being disposed longitudinally of the boat and adapted to permit a free upward and downward movement of the latter on the guides, substantially as described.

11. In a dredge, the combination with a boat, and a shoe located beneath the boat, of an agitator, a shovel, and conveyers all carried by the said shoe, and guides connecting the shoe with the boat, to permit the rise and fall of the dredging mechanism, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

oTIs L. DAvIs.

Vitnesses':

C. NIcHoLs, L. J. KIRKLAND. 

